EVE New Citizens Q&A

I just wen't around the long way figuring out the prices for various asteroids in .6 minmitar space. Basically, i went to an asteroid belt, filled my cargohold with Veldspar and dropped it off at the nearest station. I did the same with the rest of the asteroids found in this region.

These are the prices i came up with for 26,400 m3 of each based on highest buy orders on Eve-Central at the time.
Veldspar -5,837,000
Scordite-5,425,000
Plagioclase- 5,298,000
Omber-4,074,840

So it seems that the rarer and harder the ore is, the lower the price/m3, I don't understand this.

The market is player driven. Rarity is only one factor that determines the price of an item.

Demand and supply are the important one's, this is where stockpiles have an influence

The only way to use ore is to refine it, so the value of the ore (and of the asteroids) isn't based on "rarity" but on what minerals it gives when it's refined. And the value of the minerals depends on supply and demand, and what production lines they're used for. If the manufacturers can get mexallon and isogen from other sources, they won't pay much for any of the ores that refine to these minerals.

When you look at what's consumed in manufacturing vs. what's available in asteroids, lots of tritanium and pyerite are needed, followed by small quantities of mexallon, and isogen, and tiny quantities of nocxium, zydrine, and megacyte. Veldspar is available everywhere and is mostly ignored because scordite and the higher asteroids also refine to tritanium. Scordite gives pyerite, which is at the sweet spot between how much is needed and how much is available. The higher minerals (mexallon, isogen, nocxium) can be acquired in sufficient quantities at random mission or scanned locations, and zydrine and megacyte can be mined by the large nullsec alliances in sufficient quantities.

So you're looking at scordite. Or, as suggested above, try to find some of the asteroids that refine to isogen / nocxium by using probes.

On top of that, you're selling to players; the market is players. The built-in "rarity" means little to the trader who's under-paying you and only buys your ore because he has better refinery skills than you, and figures he will make a profit at the trade hub selling the minerals.

I only mined to get "free" minerals for building stuff. Mining to sell to get ISK is basically a waste of time imho as there are other ways to make more isk/hour.

(Yes, I know, lets not open the "those minerals are not free" can of worms. For my play style they were free, ok?).

Prices are build up much more then just rarity.


* Supply and Demand being a big one.
* Another is, speculations (specially when big changes are coming (new ships, new overhaul to industry).



For instance, veldspar is the main source for Tritanium. Trit is used in nearly everything in decent quantities. Hence, there will a very decent amount of demand for it.

But, as Veldspar is very common, the supply is also high (as are all the high-sec ores as it's very easy to mine them in relative safety).

Otherwise known as opportunity cost

There are far too many inaccuracies in what you have written here that I can't be bothered to correct them. Please don't write in the new players section unless you are going to write accurate information.

a) that's not what I meant and b) you're actually wrong, partially anyway. You don't have to mine because you produce.

I largely agree with you here. I'm not sure if this is an argument or a clarification but I just want to point out that if you are doing stuff that you don't like in game to make isk then it is like a job. I don't know many people that can earn the amount of isk that a PLEX costs in an hour of game play but I do know plenty of people that earn the real life money that it costs to pay the sub or buy a plex in an hour. So there is a point to be made that if you are working in game or working IRL and hour of your time is an hour of your time and this is a game and supposed to be fun.

I feel the need to say this here because so many new players come to this game thinking they will play it for free and spend the whole month trying to earn the isk to buy the PELX. Then the game seems like a job and they ***** that it's too grindy. If you want to make this game a job you can but I suggest that you are better off getting a real life job or working a little overtime at your current job than to do it that way.